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Rough Sleepers
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best History & Biography (2023)In Rough Sleepers, Tracy Kidder shows how one person can make a difference, as he tells the story of Dr. Jim O’Connell, a man who invented ways to create a community of care for a city’s unhoused population, including those who sleep on the streets—the “rough sleepers.”
When Jim O’Connell graduated from Harvard Medical School and was nearing the end of his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, the chief of medicine made a proposal: Would he defer a prestigious fellowship and spend a year helping to create an organization to bring health care to homeless citizens? Jim took the job because he felt he couldn’t refuse. But that year turned into his life’s calling. Tracy Kidder spent five years following Dr. O’Connell and his colleagues as they served their thousands of homeless patients. In this book, we travel with O’Connell as he navigates the city, offering medical care, socks, soup, empathy, humor, and friendship to some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens. He emphasizes a style of medicine in which patients come first, joined with their providers in what he calls “a system of friends.”
When Jim O’Connell graduated from Harvard Medical School and was nearing the end of his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, the chief of medicine made a proposal: Would he defer a prestigious fellowship and spend a year helping to create an organization to bring health care to homeless citizens? Jim took the job because he felt he couldn’t refuse. But that year turned into his life’s calling. Tracy Kidder spent five years following Dr. O’Connell and his colleagues as they served their thousands of homeless patients. In this book, we travel with O’Connell as he navigates the city, offering medical care, socks, soup, empathy, humor, and friendship to some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens. He emphasizes a style of medicine in which patients come first, joined with their providers in what he calls “a system of friends.”
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 17, 2023
About the author
Tracy Kidder
42 books1,207 followersTracy Kidder is an American author and Vietnam War veteran. Kidder may be best known, especially within the computing community, for his Pulitzer Prize-winning The Soul of a New Machine, an account of the development of Data General's Eclipse/MV minicomputer. The book typifies his distinctive style of research. He began following the project at its inception and, in addition to interviews, spent considerable time observing the engineers at work and outside of it. Using this perspective he was able to produce a more textured portrait of the development process than a purely retrospective study might.
Kidder followed up with House, in which he chronicles the design and construction of the award-winning Souweine House in Amherst, Massachusetts. House reads like a novel, but it is based on many hours of research with the architect, builders, clients, in-laws, and other interested parties.
In 2003, Kidder also published Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World after a chance encounter with Paul Farmer. The book was held to wide critical acclaim and became a New York Times bestseller. The actor Edward Norton has claimed it was one of the books which has had a profound influence on him.
Kidder followed up with House, in which he chronicles the design and construction of the award-winning Souweine House in Amherst, Massachusetts. House reads like a novel, but it is based on many hours of research with the architect, builders, clients, in-laws, and other interested parties.
In 2003, Kidder also published Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure The World after a chance encounter with Paul Farmer. The book was held to wide critical acclaim and became a New York Times bestseller. The actor Edward Norton has claimed it was one of the books which has had a profound influence on him.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,027 reviews
December 10, 2022
I was one. When we lived in Philadelphia and I worked downtown, I got used to seeing them. People sleeping on cardboard boxes over the subway vents. The man who sold pencils on the street corner. The young man who came to the house and asked my husband to hold his money, giving over a fist of change, fearful it would get stolen in the shelter. He would return when he needed it, and went into the store next door to buy a soda and a bag of chips. There was the woman with all her belongings in a shopping cart who once threw empty soda cans at me when I came out of the public library.
One time a man stopped me and asked for money. I took him into the McDonalds we were in front of and bought him whatever he wanted: a cup of coffee.
Reading Rough Sleepers, moved by the stories of the homeless who sleep outside, I wondered why I didn’t give the homeless I had encountered more thought. I was young, we didn’t have money, I was ignorant. Or was acceptance just plain easier?
Tracy Kidder’s story of the Harvard trained doctor who dedicated his life to serving the most needy is inspirational, disturbing, eye-opening. The position he accepted for a year before he went onto to a fellowship in cancer research became his life’s work. His background as a bar tender taught him how to listen. His childhood taught him how to stay calm and controlled.
His first duty was to wash the feet of the homeless. It was a medical necessity, but also a lesson in servitude. Dr. Jim learned that traditional medicine, based on profit and treating patients not people, didn’t work with this population. He needed to get to know them, earn their trust before he could treat them. Dr. Jim delayed the fellowship another year, then gave it up. He had found his life’s calling. He worked long hours, traveling the streets at night to check on patients. He gave up wealth and rank and a private life. He made a difference, forming decades long relationships with his patients.
It’s not just the good doctor that we come to know; we get deep into the stories of his patients like Tony. He was a good person, a peace maker, a volunteer. Like 90% of the homeless, he was also an addict. And a felon whose conviction for attempted rape barred him from obtaining housing or employment. He had mental health issues. Like 75% of the homeless, his childhood was filled with violence. Dr. Jim wondered what Tony could have been–if only. We come to care about Tony.
The book presents the complicated bureaucratic system that has failed the homeless. How low income housing disappears when building are upscaled, the tenants unable to find affordable alternatives. How for profit medical system fails this population. And how government’s cutback on spending and the closure of psychiatric hospitals, the lack of treatment for PTSD in veterans, all contributed to an increase in homelessness. As a society, we want to blame the poor and homeless for their situation. We don’t want our tax money to fund programs for people who are addicts and unemployed. We don’t want to know who the homeless are because its easier that way.
Rough Sleepers shows how a few people can make a huge impact, even in a flawed system. Dr. Jim treated the homeless as individuals of worth, ministered to their needs as he could. Its up to the rest of us to urge politicians to address the systemic issues behind homelessness.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
One time a man stopped me and asked for money. I took him into the McDonalds we were in front of and bought him whatever he wanted: a cup of coffee.
Reading Rough Sleepers, moved by the stories of the homeless who sleep outside, I wondered why I didn’t give the homeless I had encountered more thought. I was young, we didn’t have money, I was ignorant. Or was acceptance just plain easier?
Tracy Kidder’s story of the Harvard trained doctor who dedicated his life to serving the most needy is inspirational, disturbing, eye-opening. The position he accepted for a year before he went onto to a fellowship in cancer research became his life’s work. His background as a bar tender taught him how to listen. His childhood taught him how to stay calm and controlled.
His first duty was to wash the feet of the homeless. It was a medical necessity, but also a lesson in servitude. Dr. Jim learned that traditional medicine, based on profit and treating patients not people, didn’t work with this population. He needed to get to know them, earn their trust before he could treat them. Dr. Jim delayed the fellowship another year, then gave it up. He had found his life’s calling. He worked long hours, traveling the streets at night to check on patients. He gave up wealth and rank and a private life. He made a difference, forming decades long relationships with his patients.
It’s not just the good doctor that we come to know; we get deep into the stories of his patients like Tony. He was a good person, a peace maker, a volunteer. Like 90% of the homeless, he was also an addict. And a felon whose conviction for attempted rape barred him from obtaining housing or employment. He had mental health issues. Like 75% of the homeless, his childhood was filled with violence. Dr. Jim wondered what Tony could have been–if only. We come to care about Tony.
The book presents the complicated bureaucratic system that has failed the homeless. How low income housing disappears when building are upscaled, the tenants unable to find affordable alternatives. How for profit medical system fails this population. And how government’s cutback on spending and the closure of psychiatric hospitals, the lack of treatment for PTSD in veterans, all contributed to an increase in homelessness. As a society, we want to blame the poor and homeless for their situation. We don’t want our tax money to fund programs for people who are addicts and unemployed. We don’t want to know who the homeless are because its easier that way.
Rough Sleepers shows how a few people can make a huge impact, even in a flawed system. Dr. Jim treated the homeless as individuals of worth, ministered to their needs as he could. Its up to the rest of us to urge politicians to address the systemic issues behind homelessness.
I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
March 25, 2023
4.5 Unsung heroes. Life's better angels and people who care, people desperately needed. The homeless. The unhoused. Those people many turn away from, not seeing them as human. Another social problem that our great country cannot solve, like poverty, hunger, guns and the violence they wrought. In Boston, they are attempting to do something about it and this book introduces us to some of our better angels and those they try to help.
Kidder writes terrific narrative non fiction that pulls the reader in and makes them see and realize the scope of the problem. Dr. Jim O'Connell, became a physician later in life than many and finds the homeless his vocation. He is also rather funny and self deprecating, which is needed in this book where many of the people we meet tugged at my heart strings.
Kidder writes terrific narrative non fiction that pulls the reader in and makes them see and realize the scope of the problem. Dr. Jim O'Connell, became a physician later in life than many and finds the homeless his vocation. He is also rather funny and self deprecating, which is needed in this book where many of the people we meet tugged at my heart strings.
February 10, 2023
Audiobook….read by Tracy Kidder
….8 hours and 41 minutes
“There are some things that you do because it is simply the right thing to do”.
My heart cries for the homeless!!!
This story is deeply touching.
Anyone would be inspired by Dr. James O’Connell (Jim’s) journey- work - dedication working with the homeless in the Boston area.
The stories are grueling: blizzards- substance abuse- illness- extreme suffering - death - and a few miracles.
Jim once said:
“Most of the patients that I have worked with over the past 32 years are dead. But I tried to take care of people, see what they needed, provide what they needed.
He was drafted into the job of being a doctor for the homeless - he didn’t choose it”…..
But it transformed him as a doctor and a man!
A very powerful - inspiring book — heartbreaking heartfelt —
heart for the homeless >
and
heart to one man who rolled up his sleeves and did what was needed!!!
Kudos to Tracy Kidder …. once again, the remarkable humanitarian, author, has outdone himself by giving us the story of “Rough Sleepers”.
Highly recommended!!!
….8 hours and 41 minutes
“There are some things that you do because it is simply the right thing to do”.
My heart cries for the homeless!!!
This story is deeply touching.
Anyone would be inspired by Dr. James O’Connell (Jim’s) journey- work - dedication working with the homeless in the Boston area.
The stories are grueling: blizzards- substance abuse- illness- extreme suffering - death - and a few miracles.
Jim once said:
“Most of the patients that I have worked with over the past 32 years are dead. But I tried to take care of people, see what they needed, provide what they needed.
He was drafted into the job of being a doctor for the homeless - he didn’t choose it”…..
But it transformed him as a doctor and a man!
A very powerful - inspiring book — heartbreaking heartfelt —
heart for the homeless >
and
heart to one man who rolled up his sleeves and did what was needed!!!
Kudos to Tracy Kidder …. once again, the remarkable humanitarian, author, has outdone himself by giving us the story of “Rough Sleepers”.
Highly recommended!!!
January 17, 2023
Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder is a deep-dive into the world of the unhoused and a doctor who spent his career ministering to this population. Dr. Jim Connell, a Harvard Medical School graduate, had many options in the field of medicine, but his decision to lead a grant for homeless patients in the Boston area led to his life-long calling to serve this group and the myriad issues that accompany these circumstances.
Kidder follows Dr. Jim and his community of doctors, nurses, addiction specialists, housing specialists and administrative support, showing us what it is like to be on both sides of this equation. The program that started with a grant expanded into a mobile Street Team that visited the homeless with needed supplies, a Thursday morning clinic housed at Boston's Mass General Hospital, and several facilities that offer temporary shelter and medical treatment for those in need of physical or mental health treatment and detox.
Also woven through this narrative are the stories of individuals Dr. Jim worked with, many of whom became part of his life. Extensively featured is Tony Colombo, a large Italian-American man with a heart for serving others, even when his own physical and mental needs loomed large and eventually took his life. Tony's story serves as a specimen under the microscope where we are safe to look from all angles and explore the question that so often comes to mind, "how does someone end up living on the streets?"
I was drawn to this book because of my empathy for the unhoused and my hope for solutions. However I discovered, as Dr. Jim did through years of dedication and service, that answers are elusive and what works for one does not work for all. He and his team saw the repeated cycle of addiction and self-destruction that comes with past trauma. One universal theme for the people he worked with was a dark and painful past. It would seem that all the dysfunction stored up inside these broken souls is too big to be contained in a place called home. Also, they found that housing isn't always "the solution." Many of the patients the team found housing for ended up getting evicted because they would have others over and continued their drug and alcohol abusing-lifestyle. Others did not know how to live in a home and needed training and coaching on the tasks of running a household. And then there were those who preferred to be outdoors in the harsh Boston winters, where their jobs consisted of staying out of trouble with the law and trying to survive. This group is a community, often helping one another, offering what protection they could, and even sleeping together for warmth. The mortality rate is high, but even those whose lives are disregarded hold their own yearly memorials for those they lose.
The administrative floor that houses Dr. Jim's office is lined with framed portraits of many of the lives he served. He found that most loved having their picture taken and hung on a wall as a reminder that they too existed and had a life, however troubled and transient it was. This book, while full of research and findings, is also full of stories and lives, including the life of an amazing person who made an exponential impact on a population so often pushed aside. My one wish was to see the portraits of those described in the book; to see them as Dr. Jim did, and recognize them not as a problem to be solved but as individuals who deserve health, healing, and, if not a home, a place in our communities.
I recommend this book to anyone who has ever passed by an unhoused person and wondered how they got there. It is a starting point to understanding, if not a solution tied up with a bow. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this important book.
Rough Sleepers hits the shelves, today January 17, 2023.
Kidder follows Dr. Jim and his community of doctors, nurses, addiction specialists, housing specialists and administrative support, showing us what it is like to be on both sides of this equation. The program that started with a grant expanded into a mobile Street Team that visited the homeless with needed supplies, a Thursday morning clinic housed at Boston's Mass General Hospital, and several facilities that offer temporary shelter and medical treatment for those in need of physical or mental health treatment and detox.
Also woven through this narrative are the stories of individuals Dr. Jim worked with, many of whom became part of his life. Extensively featured is Tony Colombo, a large Italian-American man with a heart for serving others, even when his own physical and mental needs loomed large and eventually took his life. Tony's story serves as a specimen under the microscope where we are safe to look from all angles and explore the question that so often comes to mind, "how does someone end up living on the streets?"
I was drawn to this book because of my empathy for the unhoused and my hope for solutions. However I discovered, as Dr. Jim did through years of dedication and service, that answers are elusive and what works for one does not work for all. He and his team saw the repeated cycle of addiction and self-destruction that comes with past trauma. One universal theme for the people he worked with was a dark and painful past. It would seem that all the dysfunction stored up inside these broken souls is too big to be contained in a place called home. Also, they found that housing isn't always "the solution." Many of the patients the team found housing for ended up getting evicted because they would have others over and continued their drug and alcohol abusing-lifestyle. Others did not know how to live in a home and needed training and coaching on the tasks of running a household. And then there were those who preferred to be outdoors in the harsh Boston winters, where their jobs consisted of staying out of trouble with the law and trying to survive. This group is a community, often helping one another, offering what protection they could, and even sleeping together for warmth. The mortality rate is high, but even those whose lives are disregarded hold their own yearly memorials for those they lose.
The administrative floor that houses Dr. Jim's office is lined with framed portraits of many of the lives he served. He found that most loved having their picture taken and hung on a wall as a reminder that they too existed and had a life, however troubled and transient it was. This book, while full of research and findings, is also full of stories and lives, including the life of an amazing person who made an exponential impact on a population so often pushed aside. My one wish was to see the portraits of those described in the book; to see them as Dr. Jim did, and recognize them not as a problem to be solved but as individuals who deserve health, healing, and, if not a home, a place in our communities.
I recommend this book to anyone who has ever passed by an unhoused person and wondered how they got there. It is a starting point to understanding, if not a solution tied up with a bow. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this important book.
Rough Sleepers hits the shelves, today January 17, 2023.
January 29, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. I love of Kidder tells stories. This book makes you so mad at the system and the way humans are discarded. Jim O’Connell is clearly a good dude with a great time. There’s something missing from this book though. It’s hard to tell why Kidder told this story, aside from it being interesting. It’s also hard to tell what the takeaways should be. I enjoyed it a lot but feel unresolved upon finishing it.
February 9, 2023
Jim O'Connell really is as magical as he appears in these pages! He brings so much solace, gentleness and care to the people he treats. I worked for "The Program" that he founded in Boston for ~3 years and truly learned so much from his grace, wisdom and deep well of empathy for unhoused people. I want to be Jim when I grow up (whenever that may be!!).
March 5, 2024
“Maybe Housing would prevent the slaughter.”
To like, Love, or have such an appreciation for this Memoir, One can not chase the Fantasy World. Readers will find this memoir as a very strong glimpse of Reality for many people’s lives in this world.
Homelessness has been an epidemic for decades and seems to be worsening the situation, sadly.
The title of this memoir is the reason I was so interestingly drawn and curious of what these pages held inside. This author takes readers on a true Journey; sharing the Life of Dr. Jim O’Connell. He felt like it was the “Right” thing to do … Taking care of people (without homes) who lived on the streets aka the “rough sleepers.”
“They Trusted him.”
The audiobook version was my choice this time. Honestly, it was not easy at all. Tracy Kidder does a wonder with this memoir because I’m sure it was not easy. He does share stories regarding the “unhoused” people as well. These stories include drug cocktails, sexual abuse, mental illness, disorders, etc, I was not at all prepared for Everything covered within these pages. It was so hard listening to these real issues and real life traumas they had endured and getting through them. But, at the same time… I’m so Grateful for this memoir as an Encouragement to continue the Good Works because It’s Always For The Greater
Good ✨.
Highly Recommended
To like, Love, or have such an appreciation for this Memoir, One can not chase the Fantasy World. Readers will find this memoir as a very strong glimpse of Reality for many people’s lives in this world.
Homelessness has been an epidemic for decades and seems to be worsening the situation, sadly.
The title of this memoir is the reason I was so interestingly drawn and curious of what these pages held inside. This author takes readers on a true Journey; sharing the Life of Dr. Jim O’Connell. He felt like it was the “Right” thing to do … Taking care of people (without homes) who lived on the streets aka the “rough sleepers.”
“They Trusted him.”
The audiobook version was my choice this time. Honestly, it was not easy at all. Tracy Kidder does a wonder with this memoir because I’m sure it was not easy. He does share stories regarding the “unhoused” people as well. These stories include drug cocktails, sexual abuse, mental illness, disorders, etc, I was not at all prepared for Everything covered within these pages. It was so hard listening to these real issues and real life traumas they had endured and getting through them. But, at the same time… I’m so Grateful for this memoir as an Encouragement to continue the Good Works because It’s Always For The Greater
Good ✨.
Highly Recommended
November 20, 2022
Heartbreaking moving story of homelessness in Boston though it’s implications are universal.. Award winning author Tracy Kidder (Strength In What Remains, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Among Schoolchildren, House, The Soul of a New Machine) now documents homelessness in Boston in Rough Sleepers - euphemism for the sleep the homeless get. He focuses primarily on Dr Jim O'Connell - Harvard medical educated - who decided after deferring Sloane Kettering for a year to dedicate his life to ministering to the Boston homeless.
He led a Street Team who went out every night to seek the nooks and crannies that he knew the homeless favored to tend to their medical needs - to help them yet not try to change them or force them off the streets - sometimes to provide overnights at the Barbara McInnis House. Also he ran the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Part documentation- part oral history - part social history- this is the story of one man’s journey to solve an insoluble problem.
A big focus is one homeless man Tony Columbo- born in Bostons Italian North Emd - bruiser - alcoholic/ addict - mental health issues - charming big bustling man who was loved and took care of so many others - but could never get his own act together and remained on the streets. His story is harrowing and ultimately heartbreaking. Kidder devotes a lot of the book to Tony’s story giving the issues a human filter - and you want to cheer him on yourself. No saint - he is the epitome of the message of the book- to help as best you can without judgment or force to the broken toys of the world.
These are real people that Dt Jim helps by befriending them - listening- working with them on their treatments and housing - but never forcing anything. if a patient decides to leave the shelter to go back to the streets - no questions were asked - with the offer that they keep in touch and keep up their medical treatments as best they could. A humane if not difficult at times approach.
A wonderful book - uplifting and devastating at the same time - of this Sisyphean problem as labeled in the. book. Kidder as observer goes on rounds with Dr Jim and tries to record and not to interfer in order to create a rich human tapestry of a problem exasperated in recent times with no ultimate solutions offered.
Very readable - in fact somehow a page turner - beautifully written with sober eyes - highly recommended for its humanity - tact - insights - empathy.
Kidder has written a deeply felt book for the soul full of joys and pains and subtle observations. Everyone tells their story here in their own words . A beautiful achievement.
Received pre publication copy from publisher and NetGaley. Should be coming out January 2023
He led a Street Team who went out every night to seek the nooks and crannies that he knew the homeless favored to tend to their medical needs - to help them yet not try to change them or force them off the streets - sometimes to provide overnights at the Barbara McInnis House. Also he ran the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Part documentation- part oral history - part social history- this is the story of one man’s journey to solve an insoluble problem.
A big focus is one homeless man Tony Columbo- born in Bostons Italian North Emd - bruiser - alcoholic/ addict - mental health issues - charming big bustling man who was loved and took care of so many others - but could never get his own act together and remained on the streets. His story is harrowing and ultimately heartbreaking. Kidder devotes a lot of the book to Tony’s story giving the issues a human filter - and you want to cheer him on yourself. No saint - he is the epitome of the message of the book- to help as best you can without judgment or force to the broken toys of the world.
These are real people that Dt Jim helps by befriending them - listening- working with them on their treatments and housing - but never forcing anything. if a patient decides to leave the shelter to go back to the streets - no questions were asked - with the offer that they keep in touch and keep up their medical treatments as best they could. A humane if not difficult at times approach.
A wonderful book - uplifting and devastating at the same time - of this Sisyphean problem as labeled in the. book. Kidder as observer goes on rounds with Dr Jim and tries to record and not to interfer in order to create a rich human tapestry of a problem exasperated in recent times with no ultimate solutions offered.
Very readable - in fact somehow a page turner - beautifully written with sober eyes - highly recommended for its humanity - tact - insights - empathy.
Kidder has written a deeply felt book for the soul full of joys and pains and subtle observations. Everyone tells their story here in their own words . A beautiful achievement.
Received pre publication copy from publisher and NetGaley. Should be coming out January 2023
November 22, 2023
Working in mental health and human services for my whole career, I love when I find a book that seems to capture the complex roots of social and public health problems as well as the complexity and the inherent dignity and worth of the human beings who are most impacted by them. Some recent examples of such books would be This Is All I Got, Invisible Child, the now-classic Evicted, and I’d add this book to the pile. This is an inspiring book about an interdisciplinary team of amazing medical professionals, originally led by Dr. Jim O’Connell, who have dedicated their lives to helping address the physical and behavioral health and other most fundamental human needs of unhoused individuals in Boston. But even more importantly, the book reflects, appreciates, and respects the beautiful individuality, value, and personhood of these “rough sleepers” as the team and their leader have built relationships and trust with them over the years. It doesn’t hurt that Tracy Kidder is also exactly the right reporter to relay this story. A great book for anyone with a heart.
December 14, 2022
Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder
The first question long-time followers of Tracy Kidder will ask is, How does this book compare to Mountains Beyond Mountains, Kidder´s account of the work of Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health, which provides health care to the needy around the world? Both books are about self-sacrificing doctors who provide care to the hopeless and who believe that health care with dignity is a basic human right. If you haven´t read Mountains Beyond Mountains, I highly recommend it. Rough Sleepers is a worthy companion.
Dr. Jim O´Connell is the director of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Kidder introduces him from the program´s van, out in the field making “house calls” on Boston´s rough sleepers, people who have no shelter at all, who sleep on the streets, in alleyways, in doorways. In addition to medical treatment – mostly focused on ameliorating the chronic health problems – the team distributes food, socks, underwear and other necessities of life on the street.
O´Connell and his team meet the homeless where they are – in shelters, half-way houses, on the streets, and for a lucky few, in newly acquired housing. He also meets them in the midst of their problems, delusions, and addictions. Most of the care he provides he characterizes as “good palliative care,” since their problems, exacerbated by a system that seems totally oblivious to the realities of life on the street, are largely intractable. Both Jim and Kidder call on the myth of Sisyphus to describe the work, while adding that they mean that myth in the sense it was reworked by Albert Camus, who wrote that Sisyphus´ task might have been endless, but he nonetheless found joy in it
.
Kidder also follows the particular story of Tony, a homeless man who both benefits from and enhances the program´s work. Tony is selfless towards Jim and the residents of the streets, often to his own detriment, but is also an addict and a man with a prison record, which makes him difficult to help. The system fails Tony in many ways, and his story typifies the small victories and crushing frustrations of this work.
O´Connell is quoted as saying, “I like to think of the problem of homelessness as a prism held up to society. And what we see refracted are the weaknesses in our health care system…” The universal importance of this book lies not just in what it can tell us about our fellow human beings, but what it tells us about the problems facing health care for everyone in the United States. Kidder describes O´Connell as a kind of “country doctor for an urban population,” calling on patients on their turf, taking time to listen to their problems, acting as a kind of social worker at times. “Medicine is not supposed to be efficient,” O´Connell says. He has the human touch, which in an age of computerized medicine and insurance company middle managers is sorely missing.
This book is a joy to read, despite its often grim subject matter. Kidder´s prose never falters, and the image of Jim O´Connell serving the underserved is profoundly inspiring. Some have, inevitably, called O´Connell a saint. But he´s just a man, doing a job that needs to be done in the way it should be done for all.
The first question long-time followers of Tracy Kidder will ask is, How does this book compare to Mountains Beyond Mountains, Kidder´s account of the work of Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health, which provides health care to the needy around the world? Both books are about self-sacrificing doctors who provide care to the hopeless and who believe that health care with dignity is a basic human right. If you haven´t read Mountains Beyond Mountains, I highly recommend it. Rough Sleepers is a worthy companion.
Dr. Jim O´Connell is the director of Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Kidder introduces him from the program´s van, out in the field making “house calls” on Boston´s rough sleepers, people who have no shelter at all, who sleep on the streets, in alleyways, in doorways. In addition to medical treatment – mostly focused on ameliorating the chronic health problems – the team distributes food, socks, underwear and other necessities of life on the street.
O´Connell and his team meet the homeless where they are – in shelters, half-way houses, on the streets, and for a lucky few, in newly acquired housing. He also meets them in the midst of their problems, delusions, and addictions. Most of the care he provides he characterizes as “good palliative care,” since their problems, exacerbated by a system that seems totally oblivious to the realities of life on the street, are largely intractable. Both Jim and Kidder call on the myth of Sisyphus to describe the work, while adding that they mean that myth in the sense it was reworked by Albert Camus, who wrote that Sisyphus´ task might have been endless, but he nonetheless found joy in it
.
Kidder also follows the particular story of Tony, a homeless man who both benefits from and enhances the program´s work. Tony is selfless towards Jim and the residents of the streets, often to his own detriment, but is also an addict and a man with a prison record, which makes him difficult to help. The system fails Tony in many ways, and his story typifies the small victories and crushing frustrations of this work.
O´Connell is quoted as saying, “I like to think of the problem of homelessness as a prism held up to society. And what we see refracted are the weaknesses in our health care system…” The universal importance of this book lies not just in what it can tell us about our fellow human beings, but what it tells us about the problems facing health care for everyone in the United States. Kidder describes O´Connell as a kind of “country doctor for an urban population,” calling on patients on their turf, taking time to listen to their problems, acting as a kind of social worker at times. “Medicine is not supposed to be efficient,” O´Connell says. He has the human touch, which in an age of computerized medicine and insurance company middle managers is sorely missing.
This book is a joy to read, despite its often grim subject matter. Kidder´s prose never falters, and the image of Jim O´Connell serving the underserved is profoundly inspiring. Some have, inevitably, called O´Connell a saint. But he´s just a man, doing a job that needs to be done in the way it should be done for all.
January 20, 2024
Highly recommend. This book totally humanizes all of the homeless people that seem to be multiplying.. I have thought for years that I wish I had used my excellent memory and test taking skills to go to Med School so that I could help all of these people in need...(too bad I never would have applied back then because I didn't want to dissect a cat! Hindsight...and nothing at all to do with the cost of med school, of course! Or the work...)
March 17, 2024
Absolutely devastating, but so wonderfully rendered. I've read two of the best nonfiction books this week. C'mon fiction, you've got some work to do in 2024 to reach this standard.
Read this book. Full stop.
Read this book. Full stop.
February 27, 2023
American homelessness is mostly invisible to us. We’re uncomfortable and it’s unsettling to look at. I knew this would make me cry. The author Tracy Kidder wrote a compelling, sometimes hopeless look at the issues of a homeless person. I’ll be thinking about parts of this for the rest of my life.
If you want to see people love and care for others like Jesus, then you’ll find it here. Barbara was one my favorite person in this book. Small acts of kindness are unforgettable. I highly recommend this gem.
A few of my favorite quotes:
[Barbara would listen, and in her high but somehow calming voice would tell him, “Jim, you’re a doctor. You’re not God. There are things you can’t fix. You just have to do your work.” It was always the same general message…. “We don’t want saints and zealots. We want flawed human beings who do their jobs. Just make this an ordinary job that people like to do.”]
[Almost always the criticism came indirectly, from friends of friends. This was convenient for a person who hated confrontations. Jim could reply forcefully but indirectly, to a friend of the critic,….Often he’d start by evoking Barbara: …I remember somebody coming into the clinic, and saying to Barbara who was working like hell, ‘What are we going to do to fix this problem of homelessness?’ And she looked up and said, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m too busy. Don’t ask me a question like that.’ That was her way of saying, ‘Stop torturing me with what society isn’t about to do. Let’s just do the best we can right now and take care of these folks.’ ” Jim paused, then wrapped up his case: ….‘This is what we do while we’re waiting for the world to change.’ ”]
Thanks Random House via NetGalley.
If you want to see people love and care for others like Jesus, then you’ll find it here. Barbara was one my favorite person in this book. Small acts of kindness are unforgettable. I highly recommend this gem.
A few of my favorite quotes:
[Barbara would listen, and in her high but somehow calming voice would tell him, “Jim, you’re a doctor. You’re not God. There are things you can’t fix. You just have to do your work.” It was always the same general message…. “We don’t want saints and zealots. We want flawed human beings who do their jobs. Just make this an ordinary job that people like to do.”]
[Almost always the criticism came indirectly, from friends of friends. This was convenient for a person who hated confrontations. Jim could reply forcefully but indirectly, to a friend of the critic,….Often he’d start by evoking Barbara: …I remember somebody coming into the clinic, and saying to Barbara who was working like hell, ‘What are we going to do to fix this problem of homelessness?’ And she looked up and said, ‘Are you kidding me? I’m too busy. Don’t ask me a question like that.’ That was her way of saying, ‘Stop torturing me with what society isn’t about to do. Let’s just do the best we can right now and take care of these folks.’ ” Jim paused, then wrapped up his case: ….‘This is what we do while we’re waiting for the world to change.’ ”]
Thanks Random House via NetGalley.
December 23, 2022
Rough Sleepers refers to the homeless population of Boston who sleep outside in all types of weather. Boston has a large amount of rough sleepers who often suffer from drug addiction and mental illness. Dr. Jim O’Connell has spent his entire career providing medical care, support and a listening ear to the homeless. This book is about his decades of caring for the homeless. The author, Tracy Kidder, has followed Dr Jim and has captured the doctor’s selfless devotion to Boston’s Rough Sleepers. The book also introduces the reader to many of the individual homeless and to the many of the other medical personnel who work with Dr. Jim.
I was very moved by this wonderful tribute to Dr. Jim and to all of the people who work with the homeless.
I was very moved by this wonderful tribute to Dr. Jim and to all of the people who work with the homeless.
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July 15, 2023My fault for not reading the book’s subtitle, but the narrative framing of the doctor is frustrating because it’s disingenuous (book really isn’t about the one doctor) and distancing (comes off like author is reluctant to engage with the people whose stories he’s telling). The actual stories are strongest part, particularly Tony’s. Not obvious to me why author wrote this (doesn’t seem passionate about topic or even that academically interested) or what takeaway author intends.
February 14, 2023
Some sources say homelessness in America pre-dates the Revolutionary War. Others say it became a pressing social issue for the first time after the Civil War. Whenever it began, today the number of unhoused people in our country is growing exponentially, and finding solutions seems more daunting than ever. The title Rough Sleepers is a description of unhoused people who sleep outdoors, and for a variety of reasons, they rarely stay in a shelter. Kidder chronicles the work of Harvard-educated Dr. Jim O'Connell, the lead doctor tasked to care for Boston's unhoused people. He is beloved by his patients because he cares deeply about their well-being. He says his background as a bartender has sometimes been more helpful than his medical training. Listening is a primary part of the job which he describes as 75% social work. The book follows Tony, a charismatic man who has been unhoused for decades. Dr. Jim and the others on his care team are fully invested in caring for Tony. He is plagued with mental health issues, addictions, and the physical health ailments common to rough sleepers. As we come to know Tony, we see him as a compassionate protector of his community. We also learn he was traumatized at an early age by violence and abuse. In spite of circumstances and events he had no power to prevent or control, Tony treats others as he longs to be treated - with respect and dignity. In the end, Kidder says there are no simple answers to solve homelessness, but it is an issue we cannot ignore. One suggestion that makes sense to me is to consolidate care for the unhoused with a single agency that acts as an umbrella over all of the agencies that work with unhoused people. It is a herculean task, but we cannot see it as hopeless. Rough Sleepers should be required reading for everyone who creates or enforces legislation dealing with homelessness in our country.
September 4, 2023
As I started this book around the same time as the first GOP presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle, I wanted to shove it in the hands of everyone on that stage, as well as every other politician in America.
The title is slightly misleading as it’s not just about Dr. Jim O’Connell, but also a picture of homelessness in Boston and America in the 21st century.
About Dr. Jim - the author does a fantastic job of painting a portrait of his life (though I wanted more on how his work affected his family life), without venturing into hagiography or nominating Jim for sainthood. He is a man who is dedicated to his work, humble about his role, and willing to listen and build something. It really isn’t about him.
The book’s reporting on Boston’s homeless community is compassionate and dignified. You can tell Tracy Kidder took the time to gain the trust of many subjects, including one of the most memorable characters in the book, Tony Columbo.
I can’t help but think of what disservice people like Ronald Reagan did to this country by painting poverty as some sort of moral failing. What a crock of bull. Yes, the “rough sleepers” of the book make some choices that confound those who are trying to help, but when you read about the ravages of addiction, the psychological damages of childhood abuse, the maddening inefficiency of the housing bureaucracy, and willingness of many to just write people off, I can see how people make the choices they make.
In the end, Dr. Jim, as well as many people he learned from and work with, are the type of people you need in this world. Humble, dedicated, and willing to do whatever it takes to help. I wish we had more leaders like him.
The title is slightly misleading as it’s not just about Dr. Jim O’Connell, but also a picture of homelessness in Boston and America in the 21st century.
About Dr. Jim - the author does a fantastic job of painting a portrait of his life (though I wanted more on how his work affected his family life), without venturing into hagiography or nominating Jim for sainthood. He is a man who is dedicated to his work, humble about his role, and willing to listen and build something. It really isn’t about him.
The book’s reporting on Boston’s homeless community is compassionate and dignified. You can tell Tracy Kidder took the time to gain the trust of many subjects, including one of the most memorable characters in the book, Tony Columbo.
I can’t help but think of what disservice people like Ronald Reagan did to this country by painting poverty as some sort of moral failing. What a crock of bull. Yes, the “rough sleepers” of the book make some choices that confound those who are trying to help, but when you read about the ravages of addiction, the psychological damages of childhood abuse, the maddening inefficiency of the housing bureaucracy, and willingness of many to just write people off, I can see how people make the choices they make.
In the end, Dr. Jim, as well as many people he learned from and work with, are the type of people you need in this world. Humble, dedicated, and willing to do whatever it takes to help. I wish we had more leaders like him.
December 12, 2022
Not only is this an excellent book, it will also be an exceptional movie . . . . or two.
The first movie should follow the book as it tells of the career path a young Harvard doctor elected to follow. Jim O'Connell intended to spend a couple of years in a low paying job as physician to the homeless. His short term plans became a fulfilling lifetime. "Rough Sleepers" tells the story of life on the street for the Boston homeless populace. The tale is both sad and heartwarming. Tracy Kidder weaves the individual stories of the homeless with Dr. Jim and what became his life's mission.
The second movie will be the story of Tony, a homeless character who is foundational to Jim's life. This sequel will tell the progress and relapse that Tony makes several times.
This book is so well written that I've already ordered an earlier Tracy Kidder book. His writing is that good. This one is five stars.
The first movie should follow the book as it tells of the career path a young Harvard doctor elected to follow. Jim O'Connell intended to spend a couple of years in a low paying job as physician to the homeless. His short term plans became a fulfilling lifetime. "Rough Sleepers" tells the story of life on the street for the Boston homeless populace. The tale is both sad and heartwarming. Tracy Kidder weaves the individual stories of the homeless with Dr. Jim and what became his life's mission.
The second movie will be the story of Tony, a homeless character who is foundational to Jim's life. This sequel will tell the progress and relapse that Tony makes several times.
This book is so well written that I've already ordered an earlier Tracy Kidder book. His writing is that good. This one is five stars.
April 6, 2023
I could not put this down, and read it in just a couple of days. It's non fiction, following the life of Dr. Jim O'Connell as he dedicates his entire medical career to the care of the homeless in Boston, in particular, the "rough sleepers" who spend significant time sleeping on pavement. It's so well written and should be required reading of anyone in health care.... Or maybe just anyone everywhere.
August 8, 2023
"I started to think that loneliness is really what drives much of what goes on in our world. Trying to fill that emptiness can be a real challenge." (pg. 279)
"I never put [the picture] on the wall here, because I'm holding it for her daughters. I don't know if they're ever going to come looking for her or not." (pg. 280)
My mom first told me about Dr. Jim O'Connell when I was probably in high school and ever since I've been intrigued by him. Then this past fall she sent me the book.
He's on my short list of truly admirable men. Dr. Jim O'Connell, Dr. Paul Farmer, and that's really all I can think of at the moment.
Kidder writes in an interesting style, a little all over the place and less linear or organized than I might like, but he does do an excellent job highlighting the homeless people in this book. It reads more as a tale of the homeless Boston mainstay Tony Columbo than as a hagiography about Dr. Jim. I found this to be a fitting decision, as books like these can become self-congratulatory. Not the case in the slightest here. Kidder pulls homelessness from an abyss of vagueness and thrusts it into a personal reality.
I've found myself drawn to homelessness over the course of my life. One, it's a problem with fairly clear direction on the surface level. "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me...’" (Matthew 25:35-40). Instead of ethical and moral dilemmas over the Good and Right thing to do, it was fairly obvious to me that working with the homeless was a Good and Right thing to do.
Second, it's become personal the more I learn about the still-unclear story of my grandfather, who battled some combination of alcoholism and bipolar disorder, probably with some element of PTSD in there. I recently found out he was homeless for about a year, somehow ending up at a nunnery in Rome where they took him in, contacted my grandmother, and flew him home. He was apparently unrecognizable at the airport.
So homelessness isn't vague. It's my grandfather. It's Jason, Lewis, and Dennis at SREHUP. It's Stephanie at Myrtle-Broadway. It's that woman at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter and that guy who would show me the house he used to have. It's that guy I used to work with at My Brother's Table who instructed me on the glory of rotisserie chicken and said I looked like Tom Brady (ofc I liked him! and ofc I'm mad at myself for not remembering his name rn).
Anyways, this review's getting a bit all over the place. All this is to say I deeply appreciate O'Connell's work and do what he can in his corner of the world against the complex scourge of homelessness. Kidder does a good job exploring those complexities.
I recommend. I've noticed myself getting a bit more callous and head down as I go about my days and this book is a good reminder to see a little more.
Those two quotes up top are key. Loneliness loneliness loneliness. Will you come looking?
"I never put [the picture] on the wall here, because I'm holding it for her daughters. I don't know if they're ever going to come looking for her or not." (pg. 280)
My mom first told me about Dr. Jim O'Connell when I was probably in high school and ever since I've been intrigued by him. Then this past fall she sent me the book.
He's on my short list of truly admirable men. Dr. Jim O'Connell, Dr. Paul Farmer, and that's really all I can think of at the moment.
Kidder writes in an interesting style, a little all over the place and less linear or organized than I might like, but he does do an excellent job highlighting the homeless people in this book. It reads more as a tale of the homeless Boston mainstay Tony Columbo than as a hagiography about Dr. Jim. I found this to be a fitting decision, as books like these can become self-congratulatory. Not the case in the slightest here. Kidder pulls homelessness from an abyss of vagueness and thrusts it into a personal reality.
I've found myself drawn to homelessness over the course of my life. One, it's a problem with fairly clear direction on the surface level. "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me...’" (Matthew 25:35-40). Instead of ethical and moral dilemmas over the Good and Right thing to do, it was fairly obvious to me that working with the homeless was a Good and Right thing to do.
Second, it's become personal the more I learn about the still-unclear story of my grandfather, who battled some combination of alcoholism and bipolar disorder, probably with some element of PTSD in there. I recently found out he was homeless for about a year, somehow ending up at a nunnery in Rome where they took him in, contacted my grandmother, and flew him home. He was apparently unrecognizable at the airport.
So homelessness isn't vague. It's my grandfather. It's Jason, Lewis, and Dennis at SREHUP. It's Stephanie at Myrtle-Broadway. It's that woman at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter and that guy who would show me the house he used to have. It's that guy I used to work with at My Brother's Table who instructed me on the glory of rotisserie chicken and said I looked like Tom Brady (ofc I liked him! and ofc I'm mad at myself for not remembering his name rn).
Anyways, this review's getting a bit all over the place. All this is to say I deeply appreciate O'Connell's work and do what he can in his corner of the world against the complex scourge of homelessness. Kidder does a good job exploring those complexities.
I recommend. I've noticed myself getting a bit more callous and head down as I go about my days and this book is a good reminder to see a little more.
Those two quotes up top are key. Loneliness loneliness loneliness. Will you come looking?
November 26, 2023
This strangely sentimental book opens the tent flap to the homeless, sleeping outside, mostly substance addicted, living hard brutal lives - yet human. Kidder, guided Dr Jim O'Connell who has ministered to rough sleepers for decades, spent 5 years following a band of these people in Boston, mostly understanding them through O'Connell's eyes - as they come in and out of the ER with sepsis, overdoses, knifings, and chronic disease. Some of these woes are ameliorated by housing, some not. The risk of dying for rough sleepers is ~10X that of a median American.
Kidder concentrates on one such patient/friend of the doctor's, Tony, to illuminate the human aspect. Kidder isn't quite successful (IMO) perhaps because Tony is in so many ways detached and broken. Instead I found the most successful chapter was the last where Dr O'Connell walks down a hall where he's framed photographs of his rough sleeping favorites over the years. Every one had a brutal story, mostly addiction keeping them outside, and stranding them alone. I wanted to know more about them.
What's striking is how homelessness has grown in the past 50 years. Kidder doesn't address this, but rather seeks to bring a face to these people camping out in increasing numbers in our cities. He does achieve this, but leaves, at least me, with few answers. A worthwhile read.
Kidder concentrates on one such patient/friend of the doctor's, Tony, to illuminate the human aspect. Kidder isn't quite successful (IMO) perhaps because Tony is in so many ways detached and broken. Instead I found the most successful chapter was the last where Dr O'Connell walks down a hall where he's framed photographs of his rough sleeping favorites over the years. Every one had a brutal story, mostly addiction keeping them outside, and stranding them alone. I wanted to know more about them.
What's striking is how homelessness has grown in the past 50 years. Kidder doesn't address this, but rather seeks to bring a face to these people camping out in increasing numbers in our cities. He does achieve this, but leaves, at least me, with few answers. A worthwhile read.
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January 7, 2024“He speaks about the difficulty and danger of applying measurable standards to the treatment of rough sleepers -- 'There are some things you just do because it’s the right thing to do and the outcome is out of my hands. Or in somebody else’s hands. I want to believe there’s value in that. You’re doing everything you can for the patient but you’re not deluding yourself into thinking that what you do isn’t worth doing because the person is going to die anyway.' "
“You just have to be there and be present and, if need be, stand with them in the darkness.”
“When we think of terrible outcomes in poor countries, we should also think of the people we’ve neglected terribly right in the shadows of these great institutions.”
“When he had felt near despair, both exhausted and awake to how ineffective his efforts were on the grand scale, he’d had Barbara McInnis to counsel him, to tell him, “Who are you? God? Your job is to take care of that broken foot.”
“We don’t want saints and zealots. We want flawed human beings who do their jobs. Just make this an ordinary job that people like to do.”
“You just have to be there and be present and, if need be, stand with them in the darkness.”
“When we think of terrible outcomes in poor countries, we should also think of the people we’ve neglected terribly right in the shadows of these great institutions.”
“When he had felt near despair, both exhausted and awake to how ineffective his efforts were on the grand scale, he’d had Barbara McInnis to counsel him, to tell him, “Who are you? God? Your job is to take care of that broken foot.”
“We don’t want saints and zealots. We want flawed human beings who do their jobs. Just make this an ordinary job that people like to do.”
June 8, 2023
A great book that I listened to on audio. Kidder narrated the true story of Dr. Jim Connell who cares for the homeless, the “rough sleepers”of Boston. I learned how government bureaucracy has harmed these fragile people who can be in many health crises as well as addiction. If you like reading about real people making a difference against all odds, read this book!
July 22, 2023
If you are looking for a book about homelessness/poverty, this is definitely better than poverty in America. didn’t feel too much like a typical nonfiction book and had a story to follow
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April 22, 2024Thankful for Tracy Kidder once again giving us a glimpse into what treating humans humanely looks like.
April 14, 2023
Tracy Kidder doing what he does best - profiling a “saint among us”. Was fascinating to learn about the rough sleeper life and also get intimately familiar with a couple homeless people who he chose to profile as main characters in the book rather than viewing them as a “population” or set of statistics. Was interesting to think about the work of providing medical care and how helpless/ineffective that can feel yet how important it is. I found that admirable and simultaneously don’t understand how that career would not feel super frustrating and hopeless over time. Highlighted my strong (and incorrect) bias of wanting to “solve problems” of inequality when so much of the necessary work to ensure humanity of the disenfranchised is bearing witness, meeting people with dignity, recognizing an individual’s right to make their own choices and giving up any notion that you know a better way and thus a solution. That was the lesson I took from this book more than how to provide effective or efficient care and/or how to address the epidemic of homelessness in America.
November 3, 2023
Read this today on a long flight day and couldn't put it down!
January 26, 2023
As a fan of Mountains Beyond Mountains and Strength in What Remains, I had been anxiously awaiting Rough Sleepers since I first heard it would be coming out a couple months ago. I was actually just about to buy it on presale when I won a copy in the Goodreads giveaway.
Kidder rose to the challenge and did it again—painting a portrait of those who are oft forgotten or ignored (and the social structures that keep them in a cycle of poverty). He wrote in such a way that keeps reminding the reader that both the folks experiencing homelessness and those that care for them have complex lives that go far beyond what meets the eye.
As a physician who cares for underserved and impoverished patients myself, his discussion of boundaries (and when to break them) in medicine also resonated with me.
Excellent read that will have you falling in love with many of the rough sleepers, and hopefully thinking more about what you can do to end homelessness.
Kidder rose to the challenge and did it again—painting a portrait of those who are oft forgotten or ignored (and the social structures that keep them in a cycle of poverty). He wrote in such a way that keeps reminding the reader that both the folks experiencing homelessness and those that care for them have complex lives that go far beyond what meets the eye.
As a physician who cares for underserved and impoverished patients myself, his discussion of boundaries (and when to break them) in medicine also resonated with me.
Excellent read that will have you falling in love with many of the rough sleepers, and hopefully thinking more about what you can do to end homelessness.
June 1, 2023
Dr Jim O'Connell has spent nearly 40 years providing healthcare to the homeless in Boston, in particular the "rough sleepers," those who sleep on the street rather than in shelters. Tracy Kidder spent five years shadowing him and the organization he built, Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program. In addition to getting to know O'Connell, the reader becomes familiar with some of the regulars. Kidder also explains the many obstacles to getting the homeless housed, not the least of which is the gentrification of many parts of the city. The problems seem overwhelming and intractable, but O'Connell keeps focused on his mission, which is to relieve suffering and assist with housing when possible. He is a truly inspirational character, and clearly beloved by both his colleagues and his patients. I would have given the book five stars, but I felt Kidder somehow held back on describing how painful, humiliating and frightening life without housing is.
March 13, 2023
Kidder has once again provided an amazing portrait of a person whose impact on the lives of others far outweighs that of most people. I was curious how this would read, more than 20 years after his book about Paul Farmer.
Farmer and Dr. Jim have a lot of similarities but I do think Kidder provides a little more overall community insight, profiling Jim, yes, but we learn especially there are many folks who enable the Street Team to work as well as it does and many of them are nurses and women.
One homeless man, Tony, is given a lot of space in the book and of course we learn that his life and conditions are so much more than the decisions he's made. Jim treats him (both as a patient and as a colleague) with dignity and respect.
I'm grateful Kidder is still writing these profiles. This is a favorite book of the year.
Farmer and Dr. Jim have a lot of similarities but I do think Kidder provides a little more overall community insight, profiling Jim, yes, but we learn especially there are many folks who enable the Street Team to work as well as it does and many of them are nurses and women.
One homeless man, Tony, is given a lot of space in the book and of course we learn that his life and conditions are so much more than the decisions he's made. Jim treats him (both as a patient and as a colleague) with dignity and respect.
I'm grateful Kidder is still writing these profiles. This is a favorite book of the year.
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